The present invention relates generally to operations in subterranean wells and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly provides a method and apparatus for isolating a producing formation.
Modern advancements in well production technology have produced the capability of drilling wells in relatively deep waters offshore using floating production systems and production risers. Unfortunately, use of these systems raises certain safety concerns. For example, if a ship were to collide with a floating production system, at least the production tubing spar may be sheared off, presenting an urgent need to gain immediate control of the well.
Additionally, other issues are presented in such deep water completions, such as paraffin and hydrate formation, future workovers to install gas lift equipment after production has diminished, monitoring of fluid properties downhole, alleviating spar loading, and addressing these issues while containing the costs of the completions. Of course, not all of these issues are present in every such well completion, but the need does exist to be able to solve these problems in whatever combination they arise in a particular completion and, therefore, it would be advantageous to be able to solve them all in a single completion.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that it would be quite desirable to provide a method of producing a subterranean well which enables an operator to conveniently gain control of a well after a catastrophic event, such as shearing of the production tubing, while addressing issues such as paraffin and hydrate formation, monitoring downhole fluid properties, alleviating tubing spar loading, future workovers, etc., and accomplish these objectives while increasing the efficiency of the well production. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide such a method and associated apparatus therefor.